Valley School District Addresses Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety

As schools use technology more in the classroom, the problem of cyber bullying has escalated. Now Valley school districts in Phoenix, Arizona have more of an incentive to try to stop it. New guidelines from the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) will give school districts big discounts on their telecommunications bill, if followed.

“That includes providing better training to teachers and students in regards to what is acceptable internet behavior,” said Tracey Benson, spokeswoman for the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA). The new guidelines also call for schools to better monitor their own internet networks more effectively and to try to monitor more things like social media and chat rooms where bullying is more prevalent. ASBA has sent out their own recommendations to local districts as to how they can easily comply with CIPA guidelines.